Musk's mess: What's going on with verification?

The social media platform is reconsidering which users receive the blue checkmark icon next to their names. Before Musk acquired the company, the symbol indicated profiles belonging to celebrities, official government agencies, members of the media, and other “authentic accounts of public interest,” according to a help page published by Twitter.

The world’s richest man settled upon granting blue checkmarks to any user who enrolls in a $7.99 per month subscription plan, while the company started adding the word “official” under accounts of “public interest” verified before Musk assumed ownership, an idea that he had originally nixed after a number of high-profile users expressed disagreement with the move.

Some users, however, immediately began impersonating other accounts by changing their username and profile picture to match well-known organizations or individuals while making their handle a slight deviation from those belonging to the actual accounts, meaning that the profiles appeared to be authentic upon first glance. One user mimicked Nintendo of America under the handle “nIntendoofus” and posted a picture of Mario holding up the middle finger, while another user impersonated former President George W. Bush under the handle “GeorgeWBushs” and tweeted that he misses “killing Iraqis.”